Bangkok floodwaters recede as Thai Airways battles baggage chaos
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Flooding after unusually heavy rainfall in Bangkok is expected to recede within three days if more rain does not fall. Thai Airways has faced baggage handling disruption, delays and cancellations, while flooding has affected businesses across 40 provinces and caused an estimated $320 million in economic damage.
Standing water in Thailand’s capital is expected to clear within three days if there is no additional rainfall, the government said on Wednesday, as flag carrier Thai Airways struggled to resume regular services following heavy rain and flooding. The cabinet will discuss long-term plans to address flooding and recovery measures on Tuesday, government spokesperson Ekkapob Pianpises told a news briefing. Bangkok was hit by around 320 mm of rain over two to three days last week, nearly as much as the sprawling low-lying city usually gets in the whole of September. People walk through floodwaters in the Bang Kapi district of Bangkok on September 28, 2026. —AFP Although Bangkok’s main airports kept running through the weekend rain and flooding, some baggage handling operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport were severely impacted, with 69 Thai Air Force personnel called in on Monday to support ground operations of flag carrier Thai Airways. Hundreds of bags were still lined up in hallways inside the airport on Tuesday, according to Reuters photographs. Passengers search their delayed baggage from Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, after heavy rain and flooding disrupted the airline’s ground operations, in Bangkok, Thailand, September 29, 2026. —Reuters In a statement on social media early on Tuesday, Thai Airways said 34 of its flights had been delayed on Monday and baggage from 52 flights between September 26 and 27 was being delivered to passengers. In another social media post, the airline said that it had cancelled eight flights on Tuesday “due to the flooding situation in Bangkok and aircraft rotation”, and warned that additional flight cancellations or schedule changes could occur. Some 1,267 businesses across 40 provinces have been affected by flooding, including 52 factories and 1,162 small and medium enterprises, according to Thailand’s industry minister Varawut Silpa-archa. Nationwide, economic damage caused by the flooding was estimated at over $320 million.